Veni, Vidi, Edi 1 (1/2)

A small party of 4 were making their way through the wilderness. The area around them was a small valley, surrounded on all sides by tall hills that needed just a little more height to graduate to being small mountains. There were numerous thickets of pine-like trees strewn about, although they were far too disconnected to be called an actual forest. Green grass wet with dew covered the entire region as far as the eye could see, and the morning pre-dawn sun was just beginning to light up the sky. Overall, the terrain had barely enough cover to allow the small team of 4 people to move without being noticed from afar. Well, strictly speaking 2 of them weren’t really ‘people,’ even though they looked the part.

Far ahead of the group was Keira, wearing her standard-issue chainmail-and-leather armor, along with the dark green tunic that marked her as a member of the Hidden Arrow guild. She was the group’s designated spotter and scout, so she walked about 60 to 70 meters ahead of them. Far enough to warn the others of danger using Whisper Wind, but close enough to fall back to them should the need arise.

The other three moved in a tight formation, almost literally shoulder to shoulder. At the head stood the 2-meter tall, woman-shaped battering ram known as Lola. She wore a splendid set of dwarven-forged, half-plate armor that was of Superior quality - a ‘loan’ from her doting Warrior instructor. Blue-tinted metal plates protected her torso, shoulders, forearms and the front of her legs and thighs, while a light metal helmet perfectly concealed her short, black hair, but left her face wide open.  Although lacking the protection of full plate, this armor allowed the wearer a lot more freedom of movement. Not to mention it would reduce the effects of any hostile magic aimed at its wearer purely due to being forged out of Azurite. Each piece of it was also enchanted to make it both lighter and tougher, making it the sort of equipment any first-rate adventurer would be proud to have.

Behind Lola was a male elf called Jules. Although of average height for his people at about 175 centimeters tall, he still looked particularly short next to the towering Lola. His short, scruffy beard and messy, unkempt hair made him look much older than he really was at a glance, mostly due to their dull gray color. This was merely his natural hair color, and the man himself was still in his early 30s. His lean body was mostly concealed by a dark brown traveling cloak. It swished around him as he moved, revealing the light, gray leather armor he wore underneath, as well as the small, shoulder-slung bag that rattled quietly with each step. Although not visible under the soft gloves he was wearing, he was also equipped with 4 magic rings that provided various minor effects. He walked along while carrying an ash-colored wooden staff with an engraved mithril sphere as its head. His choice of weapon made it clear he was a type of magic user, although his actual Job was made obvious by the 4th member of the group.

Floating idly behind him, with a thoroughly bored look on her gorgeous face was a succubus. She had white skin like alabaster and glowing yellow eyes. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was parted by a pair of pitch-black, ram-like horns. As for her body, it was as outrageously proportioned and scandalously clothed as one might expect of her kind, but the wings on her back marked her as rather unique. For they were not leathery or bat-like in appearance, but were covered in bright yellow feathers, much closer to those of a hawk.

Her name was Purupururin, and she was an Ivory Succubus, one of the few subspecies of demons that could use Holy magic. Her secondary Job was that of a Priest, and she wielded healing and defensive magic with great ease. The Ivory variant of succubi also had access to a special Skill called Demonic Invigoration, which allowed their healing Spells to restore a small amount of MP in addition to their regular effects. Well, they also ‘invigorated’ a very specific part of the male anatomy, but that was besides the point.

As for why a Warrior, a Warlock, his pet succubus and a Ranger were out here on the fringe between the Lodrak Empire and the Ishigar Republic, it was because the war was about to go into full swing. Keira, Lola and Jules were one of many recon teams dispatched to scout out enemy positions and numbers. Although a Ranger would undoubtedly cover more ground by themselves, that would only prove to be true if said ground was uninhabited.

“Enemy contact, standby!”

Lola motioned the other two to stop when she heard Keira’s quiet yet clear voice. The catgirl was using her Whisper Wind Skill to report her findings to her from a safe distance, although it was strictly a one-way communication channel.

“A group of 5 gnolls, 130 meters ahead of my position. They haven’t spotted me.”

That right there was the reason traversing this region alone was typically a bad idea. Gnolls were canine monsters that had the appearance of hyenas that walked on two feet. Although not particularly strong on their own, they were intelligent enough to wield weapons, wear armor and cooperate amongst themselves to secure prey. They were also known for building crude villages and even showed an interest in agriculture. Overall, they were surprisingly docile as far as monsters went. Unless, of course, one happened to intrude upon their clan’s territory. Which was precisely what Keira and company were currently doing.

“We can take them easy, so move up to my position.”

“Keira found some more gnolls,” repeated Lola for Jules’ benefit. “She says they’re easy pickings, so we’re going to take them out.”

“She says that about everything though,” said Jules with a sigh.

Threat assessment was also one of the duties of a scout, and a vital one at that. A party could easily be wiped out if the one in charge of reconnaissance underestimated the enemy or overestimated their own ability.

“She hasn’t been wrong so far,” noted Lola.

“No, I guess not,” consented the Warlock. “I just get the feeling she’s getting overconfident. Those gnolls would rip her to shreds if they caught her scent, you know.”

The white-skinned succubus gave off a snort at the thought of a few bipedal puppies being able to defeat that.

“... Something you wanna say, Purupururin?” asked Jules when he noticed her attitude.

“Yeah. You guys are fucking idiots.”

“Charming as usual, aren’t you?”

Of course, even if she was aware of Boxxy’s secret, she wouldn’t dare reveal it for 3 very good reasons. First of all, it would ruin the fun. Second of all, the Big Guy would probably have her sorry ass on a platter if she dared to do that. Last, but certainly not least, that thing was her ticket to freedom. She was hoping she’d be able to work out some deal with ‘Keira’ that would make her master disappear and allow her to run free, but didn’t have the chance to even speak with it yet.

“Right, go back to keeping your cockhole shut and stay quiet.”

Unfortunately for her, said master knew how to handle a succubus. Jules had kept a near-permanent gag order on her ever since they were contracted years ago. Words were one of a succubus’s main weapons, after all, and the scenario she was planning was just the type of thing he wanted to prevent.

The trio climbed up the hillside, following Keira’s footsteps until they met up with their scout. The catgirl pointed in the distance, indicating a group of shadows moving between the trees. Lola nodded in understanding and unsheathed the longsword from her hip while reaffirming her left hand’s grip on her Azurite kite shield. She then took point as the group crept closer. Once they were about 50 meters from the gnolls, she looked over her shoulder to confirm the others were ready, then nodded at Keira. The beastkin nocked an arrow on her iron-reinforced hunting bow and took aim. She picked out the juiciest-looking target and let loose while activating a Martial Art with a murmur.

“Power Shot.”

The arrow flew forward while leaving a trail of red light, nailing the tallest gnoll right between the eyes and killing it instantly. The other 4 immediately turned towards where the attack had come from and let out growls and howls as they ran for cover. Even if it had strong penetrative force, the trajectory of a Power Shot was far too easy to track, so that was likely going to be the only clean shot the Ranger would get.

Lola sprang forward from the undergrowth she was hiding in and dashed to intercept the rest of the gnolls. By the time she caught up to them, Keira had nailed another while Jules’ Shadowbolt and Ebonfire combo had finished off a third. The female elf slammed into the fourth gnoll with her shield, knocking it over in the process, and swung her blade at the last.

Overall, it took less than 30 seconds to wipe the gnolls out. An easy win, just like Keira said. They would have gotten by without a scratch, but the gnoll Lola knocked over with her shield had recovered much quicker than she was expecting. The Warrior finished it off, but not before the creature stabbed her in the waist with the crude knife it was holding. It wasn’t a serious injury as her armor covered her vitals and the wound was immediately treated by Purupururin, but it still stung like a bitch.

The group rebuilt their earlier formation and kept climbing the hill they were on. They ran into another, smaller group of gnolls that were also easily dispatched before they reached the top, at which point all of them could clearly see their objective.

A large force of Imperial soldiers had made camp along the road in the distance, over a kilometer away from their current position. The smoke trails rising from the sea of white tents signified some of them were already up and about, likely preparing breakfast for the others. A large number of blue flags and banners were strung up, signifying the force’s allegiance. Although they were not on Republic territory quite yet, they were close enough to cross the border after about half a day’s worth of marching.

Lola, Keira and Jules shared a few meaningful glances, after which the Ranger reached into her backpack. She pulled out a crystal cube that was about 8 centimeters on each side, as well as an Artificer-made spyglass. She tapped three times on the Comm-crystal and whispered the password into it.

“Folly. Ulgred. Berry. Ankrow. Rillis. Gorgon. Geomer.”

The cube sprang to life and projected the blue-colored transparent image of a male elf with short hair and a stern expression into the air.

“This is Keira Morgana, recon team 31,” she reported.

“This is Forward Command, reading you loud and clear, 31,” came the business-like response from the other end. “What’s your situation?”

“We have reached our destination and have eyes on the enemy force.”

“Can you verify their numbers?”

The catgirl laid down on the ground, set the cube down next to her and looked over the large camp with her spyglass. She took an approximation of the number of tents, and took into account the average number of soldiers that would fit in a single one before she gave her estimate.

“Seems to be 2 regiments’ worth, at least 4,000 people. Maybe 5,000.”

A shadow passed over Jules and Lola’s faces when they heard that. This was twice the number of soldiers they were told to expect during their briefing.

“Understood, 31. Can you make out any heraldries?”

Each noble house of the Empire had a small, standing army of their own. And while the Emperor had ultimate authority over them, each house was directly responsible for its own soldiers. As such, they made a point of displaying their respective colors alongside the Empire’s blue, griffin-adorned flag whenever possible.